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          Bengals tackle Amarius Mims out weeks with pec injury

          • Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterAug 12, 2024, 02:35 PM ET
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              Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
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          CINCINNATI -- The status of a potential Cincinnati Bengals starter is in question for Week 1.

          Right tackle Amarius Mims will miss several weeks with a strained pectoral muscle, coach Zac Taylor said. Mims will likely miss the final two preseason games, and his status for the season opener against the New England Patriots on Sept. 8 remains uncertain.

          "I wouldn't take anything off the table," Taylor said when asked whether it's unlikely that Mims will start on Week 1. "I think he's had a really good training camp. Obviously, it's tough that he's not going to get some opportunities."

          Taylor said the injury will not require surgery.

          Since the Bengals drafted Mims with the 18th overall draft pick in April, the first-rounder has impressed the coaching staff. The former Georgia standout would have continued to take reps with the first-team offense had he stayed healthy despite veteran Trent Brown taking his first team reps of training camp on Monday.

          The Bengals are unsure when the injury occurred. Mims played in 15 offensive snaps in the preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday. Taylor said Mims mentioned something after the game and further imaging revealed the injury.

          He did not even hint at a potential injury when he spoke to reporters. In fact, Mims was eager to continue to get as many reps as possible in his first NFL season.

          "I was called to play football, so that's what I'm going to do," Mims said. "Preseason or regular season. I'm going to keep enjoying it. If I'm blessed to get more reps from coach, then I'm going to take all the reps that I can get."

          The Bengals were very optimistic about Mims despite his limited college experience. In three seasons at Georgia, he made just eight starts. Six of them came in 2023. However, he missed six games because of an ankle injury.

          On Monday, Taylor was pleased with how Mims had looked so far in training camp and with the rookie's disposition despite the injury.

          "He's still got the same energetic personality," Taylor said. "This didn't set him back at all. Excited to see how he responds to this when he gets healthy and gets back on the field."